Photo Diary: Henry Taylor at Blum & Poe in Culver City.

It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited about a gallery show. Henry Taylor at Blum & Poe is definitely one to see if you live in L.A. Stand Tall – Y’all, 2013, above, was one of my favorite pieces in the show. I like the texture of the man’s overalls, the mysterious hand and the unusual scale of the horse.

Sweet, 2013.

A view of the plowed earth installation in the main gallery. Taylor’s show is on view through Saturday.

Queen and King, 2013.

Probation, a door leading into the largest gallery space. Another was marked Detention.

A detail from Taylor’s earthen installation in the middle of the gallery. While the symbolism of this piece struck me as somewhat heavy handed, there were aspects of it that totally worked. The first: it totally manipulated the viewer’s path through the gallery, making it impossible to retreat from the paintings whose figures lord over the viewer. Plus, the few seedlings that have now emerged from this parched bit of dirt make it evident there is no place more inhospitable to life than a gallery. I can only guess that this must have smelled truly awesome when it was first installed.

Watch Your Back, 2013. I really dug this painting — there’s something Picasso-meets-Bacon about the figure on the left…

…which is even crazier to look at when you get up close. Unfortunately, my crappy cell phone camera didn’t begin to capture the textured pinkness of the tongue.

Detail from Sugar to Shit.

I Was King, When I Met The Queen – Syllable X’s Rythm Equals Mumbo Jumbo, 2013.

Not Alone and Can I Play, both from 2013.

A viewer takes in That Was Then, 2013. The scale of these paintings is truly impressive.

Henry Taylor is on view through this Saturday, March 30th, at Blum & Poe in Culver City. You’ve got four more days. This is currently one of the best shows in L.A. Do. Not. Miss.